Rockets Continue To Struggle, Lose To Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — No Rudy Gobert proved to be no problem for the Jazz on defense.

Utah smothered the Houston Rockets for the better part of four quarters en route to a 118-91 victory Thursday night. The Jazz pestered and pressed Houston into coughing up the ball repeatedly, especially after halftime. The Rockets gave up 22 turnovers and allowed Utah to score 33 points off them. Both were season highs for a Houston opponent.

The Jazz played the bulk of the game without their starting center after Gobert was ejected less than three minutes into the game. He picked up his first foul on the opening tip. After picking up his second at the 9:13 mark of the first quarter, Gobert was tossed after swatting a paper cup off the scorer's table in frustration.

Gobert drew a $15,000 fine from league officials earlier in the week for criticizing the officiating crew following Utah's 102-100 loss to Miami on Sunday.

His response to the officials ended up being more subdued this time around.

"I just came in to try to play basketball," Gobert said. "Fouls were called and I had a stupid reaction. I think I can blame myself more than anything for that one."

Derrick Favors stepped up in Gobert's absence. Favors totaled a season-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

"When Rudy went out, I had an opportunity to just go out and be aggressive and take advantage of the opportunity that was given to me," Favors said. "That's what I did and it paid off for me."

Joe Ingles added 18 points and six rebounds for the Jazz. Utah (13-13) won for the fourth time in five games to climb back to .500.

Everything unraveled for Houston starting in the third quarter.

The Jazz opened up the second half with a 15-2 spurt. Joe Ingles and Jae Crowder each scored a pair of baskets on Utah's first four possessions to ignite the decisive run that gave the Jazz a 68-47 lead. Houston committed four turnovers in that stretch, leading to eight points for Utah.

"They were driving and kicking and being more active," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. "They were more athletic, getting to the rim. They just beat us in every which way they could."

the Rockets finished with eight turnovers in the quarter and gave up more points off turnovers (15) than they scored (11). Favors bookended Jazz baskets over three straight possessions with a dunk and a hook shot to give Utah its largest lead at 91-54.

"They got off to a really good start in that third quarter," Rockets guard James Harden said. "They made shots. We didn't make shots. We made a couple of mental errors on defense and they capitalized."

Harden scored 15 points while Chris Paul and Clint Capela added 12 apiece for the Rockets. Houston (11-13) allowed an opponent to pull away in the second half for a second straight game after committing a season-high 22 turnovers and giving up a season-high 33 points off those turnovers.

Utah adjusted well to Gobert's early absence. The Jazz ripped off an 11-0 run to take a 27-16 lead near the end of the first quarter. Favors ignited the spurt with a pair of dunks. Dante Exum finished it off by slashing to the rim on back-to-back possessions for a pair of baskets.

"The game is always going to throw you adversity," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "It's wrapped in different ways. The way that Derrick responded was terrific.

TIP INS

Rockets: Michael Carter-Williams scored a season-high 13 points off the bench. . Houston totaled a season-low 11 third-quarter points. That also represented a season low for a Utah opponent. . The Rockets gave up more than 100 points for the 10th consecutive game.

Jazz: Exum had a season-high 15 points. . Utah outscored Houston 16-4 in fast-break points and finished with a 70-42 advantage on points in the paint. . The Jazz improved to 7-2 when scoring at least 20 points off turnovers. They had a season-high 15 steals.

PAUL HITS MILESTONE

Chris Paul passed the 17,000 point mark with a driving layup in the final minute of the third quarter.